AOE Compliance Connection – December 2021 Newsletter

Welcome to the December edition of AOE Compliance Connection, AOE’s monthly newsletter. We are hopeful you and your team are enjoying a busy and productive last few weeks of what has been a surprising year, in many ways: 2021! This month’s newsletter features a reminder about transitioning to the ACCME’s newly released Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education. We also include reminders for annual reporting requirements for each of the major boards, along with some information about where to find us next month at the 2022 Alliance Annual Conference in January – we look forward to seeing you there!

As we prepare to enter the new year, make sure to visit www.aoeconsulting.com for ongoing information, including our weekly compliance tips.

AOE extends a very heartfelt “Happy Holidays!” to you and yours!

The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) released its approved Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited CE one year ago – on December 10, 2020. These standards, which replace the ACCME’s previous Standards for Commercial Support (SCS), seek to provide greater clarity for ensuring independence in accredited continuing education (CE).

Providers are expected to transition fully to these new Standards by January 31, 2022. To aid in this process, the ACCME has created a Transition Checklist, available for download here.

These new standards seek to maintain the integrity of accredited CE by providing updates to terms and requirements and streamlining requirements into five (5) standards for providers: Standards 1-3 apply to all accredited organizations, Standard 4 applies “only to accredited continuing education receiving financial or in-kind support from ineligible companies”, and Standard 5 applies “only when there is marketing by ineligible companies or nonaccredited education associated with the accredited continuing education.”

AOE created a summary and synopsis of the Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited CE that can be viewed on our website, and can be read in full here.

Alliance Annual Conference

This January, AOE will be attending the Alliance Experience 2022, from January 12 – 15. This year, it will be close to home for AOE – in Aurora, Colorado! We’d love to connect with you – stop by Exhibit Space #302 to say hi to the AOE team!

Accreditation Board Bulletin: Annual Reporting

As 2021 draws to a close, it’s time to begin considering Annual Reporting. Depending on the boards with which your organization holds accreditation, here are a few quick guidelines:

ACCME

Annual Reporting is completed via the ACCME’s Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) and will be due March 31, 2022. To access information regarding PARS, inclusive of the reporting requirements, please click here. To read the ACCME’s requirements for fulfilling annual reporting, click here.

For MOC activities, there are a few important dates:  Learner completion data for the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) should have been submitted to PARS by December 1, 2021, and learner completion data for all other certifying boards collaborating with the ACCME should be submitted to PARS by December 31, 2021. Board Certified physicians need to complete their MOC activities by the end of 2021.

ANCC

Annual reporting is completed via the ANCC Nursing Activity and Reporting System (NARS) and will be due April 1, 2022.   To access ANCC Annual Reporting Requirements, click here.  Additionally, an FAQ page that includes NARS topics can be found here.

ACPE

There is no annual report required for ACPE, as activity data is captured ‘real-time’ via the Provider Web Tool and CPE Monitor.

Joint Accreditation

Annual reporting is completed via the Joint Accreditation’s Program and Activity Reporting System (JA-PARS) and will be due March 31, 2022.   To access Joint Accreditation Annual Reporting Requirements, click here.